Apophis Rising
by Pen-Always-In-Hand
Summary: Sadie and Carter are back, and now they're accompanied with their new friend, a blood of the pharohs, Brady Kohl. "I'm traveling across the country with my two new magician friends Sadie and Carter Kane and am apparently a host. People want to kill me.
1. I Find A Box In My Locker

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Hi. My name is Brady Kohl (_yes, _that is Egyptian eyeliner. Believe me, I've heard all the jokes). You might think I'm just a normal kid, right? Wrong. My life is as far from your definition of normal as it gets. Because now, I'm traveling across the country with my two new magician friends, Sadie and Carter Kane, and am apparently the host of Hapi, the Egyptian god of the Nile river. Did I forget anything? Oh yeah, and a group of other magicians are trying to kill me. Yup, pretty much sums up my life right now. So _not _what I wanted to do over summer break.

But let me begin at the beginning (where all good beginnings should begin).

* * *

New Orleans, Louisiana  
Wednesday June 22

I groaned as I hit the Snooze button on top of my alarm clock. Sometimes that thing could be _so _annoying. But I got up off my blue sheeted bed and got dressed, not happy at being awake. But then my spirits brightened because I remembered that today was the last day of school, and we had a 10:00 dismissal. Go summer.

I slid down the stair banister, something my mom and step-dad _did not _approve of. But hey, if Mom could suddenly bring a complete stranger into the house and announce that he was her fiance, then I figured I could do a little banister-sliding (Is that correct grammar? Ugh, I was actually _worrying _about my sentences! Curse you, Mrs. Regal). So I slipped into my chair for breakfast, my snob of a little half-brother, Jamie already packed for school and waiting for the bus. It made me want to puke the way he was always so perfect, the little Mr-Goody-Two-Shoes. _Wait until four years from now, when you're in seventh grade, _I thought. _Then you won't be so good._

Me, on the other hand, had barely just finished my cereal when the bus screeched to a stop in front of our house. Slinging my backpack over my shoulder and grabbing my lunch, I yelled a thanks/good-bye/love you to my mom and ran out the door before I missed my bus. That probably would not be very good thing, not with my principal.

So, we got to school, right? And the day went pretty much as usual, with the exception of the expected excitement of the last day of school. Everyone was talking about what they were going to do that day and over the summer; in fact I had made plans with my buddies to play some football at my house after school. But, eventually, Mrs. Henderson got everything under control again and we did math and grammar for an hour, and then we watched a movie for the rest of the day.

"Yo, Brady!" I turned and broke out into a grin. It was my best friend, Eddie Garso. We had been friends since kindergartenen. He was one of the ones I had invited to my house for some football. Eddie barreled into me, grinning like an idiot. According to his I.O., he wasn't that far from one, but smart enough to get past all nine grades.

"Brady, dude, you will never guess who my locker is next to next year," He said excitedly. I shook my head. I probably could guess who he was next to: Jenniefer Hudson. Eddie had an _insane _crush on her since fifth grade. Not surprising that he wanted to shout to the world that he was going to be next to the girl of his dreams for about one hundred and eighty days out of the year. Or more, if the way Jennifer giggled and batted her eyelashes at my friend was any indication that she liked him back.

"Jennifer?" I asked, looking at my own locker number. 232. I turned the corners, Eddie at my heels as I walked toward my new locker for next year. Eddie actually looked disappointed that I had gotten it right. He always liked to surprise people. But he perked up instantly and nodded. Eddie never was one to be down for long.

"Yeah. Hey, when should me and the guys come over today? Does you mom even know you invited us?" Eddie took one of my books out of my hands before it collapsed to the ground. Darn; it was grammar. I would have liked it if it fell. Oh well. I mumbled some time as I found my locker; it might have been 4:30, I don't know, but Eddie was happy with my response.

As I put my books down, I looked at locker 232 and for some reason I didn't look to see what the combination was. Somehow I knew if I put in 13/32/33, the locker would open. Turning the knob to 0 three times to the right, then thirteen to the left, then thirty-two, and finally thirty-three. And miracalously, the door opened, and inside was a box.

Eddie looked just as confused as I felt. Why was there a box in my locker? The last owner should have cleared everything out; obviously they had forgotten this. I opened it to reveal two amulets: An eye and an angel-sort-of-thing. There was also a spiral column thing in the box. From studying Egyptian mythology in fourth grade, I knew I was looking at the Wadjet Eye, or Eye of Horus, a _tjet_, or Knot of Isis, and the spine of Osiris. Suddenly, I felt a warm sensation flow through my body. Eddie looked at my neck and said,

"Dude, why is your necklace _glowing?" _I looked down and pulled my necklace out its hiding place in my shirt. It was a plain wooden necklace, carved into the shape of a frog with a lotus flower on its back. I thought it was somewhat girlish, at least the lotus part; but it was the last gift my dad had given me before he died, so I hung onto it. And Eddie was right; it _was _glowing.

"I...don't know," I said lamely. It had never happened before, and I know it didn't have any batteries hidden in it. I had watched my dad carve it himself, so that wasn't it. Come to think of it, it had started feeling really hot. I wanted to take it off, but I somehow felt a voice in the back of my mind telling me to keep it on. Obeying this strange urge, I ignored the heat and just shrugged to Eddie.

"Probably just glinting off the sun," I lied, knowing that even Eddie wouldn't believe it, but he dropped the subject, thankfully. Reaching for the box I had found in my in my new locker, I let him take it out of my hands and examine it. Getting a bored look on his face, my friend tossed it back to me. Thinking how stupid it was to toss an occupied, open box in the air so carelessly, I snatched it away from the floor. The amulets were still in there, thankfully. Just as I was about to scold Eddie for his carelessness, he said in a bored voice before running to his mom, who was waiting in her car and honking the horn,

"What kind of idiot reads a book called _Book of Coming Forth By Day_? Seems pretty useless to me; it just has a bunch of weird symbols in it." I stared at his retreating back, confused by his words. I looked at the box again, and, if I tiled my head a bit, I could see what Eddie had seen: A book plated with gold. The title, _Book of Coming Forth by Day, _was written in silver.

I shook my head, and decided to put this behind me for now. I intended to leave the book/box with the amulets, but that little voice in my head told me to bring it with me. I decided to do as it said. Taking the eye, knot, and spine with me, I proceeded to walk to my aunt's house, where I went every day after school because both Mom and Dan worked, and it was pretty close. As an afterthought, I decided to look at my combination slip, certain that it would be 13/32/33.

It was 33/29/9.

**A.N-What do you think of my first attemt at a _Kane Chronicles _fanfic? I sort of tried to shape Brady as a sort of jerky, but still cool and sort of friendly teen that has weird things happen to him. Do you think I succeeded? I kind of based him very loosely off my older brother, and the real combination at the end is actually mine.**

**The carving Brady's father gave him is a combination of Lower Egypt's symbols for Hapi (the frog) and Upper Egypt's symbols for him (the lotus).**


	2. There's A God In My Head

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When I walked into Aunt Dorothoy's house, I was surprised to see my mom and stepdad standing in the living room. Even Jamie was sitting in one of Aunt Dorothoy's chairs. I noticed that all four of our suitcases, eight carrier bags, and stacks of boxes were littering my aunt's living room floor. I thought how rude it was to use Aunt Dorothoy's house as a place to put all our stuff, but I also felt a little betrayed by my aunt. 47-years-old, she is my dad's little sister, and she, too, felt Mom's quickie, out-of-the-blue marriage to practically a complete stranger (to us) was a betrayl to Dad's memory. So to let Mom do this was totally not like her.

"Mom, what are you doing here?" I asked. She gave me a look for not acknowledging Dan and Jamie, but I could care less about those two. Sometimes I didn't even care what Mom did; Aunt Dorothoy and Dad's memory was all I cared about. Dropping my backpack at the door, I picked my way through the boxes and bags and went over to my aunt and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She smiled at me, and I saw in her eyes that she despised having her ex-sister-in-law in her house for as long as she had been, and she hated having to house her brother's replacement and their son here as well.

"We're moving," Mom said. Just like that, not strings attached.

My jaw dropped. Whatever I'd expected, it had not been _that_. I couldn't wrap my head around my head around why my mom wanted to move. We were happy here; or at least I was. Maybe I could possibly live with Aunt Dorothoy? But I said very carefully,

"Why? And, where?" My mom sighed and my incompetence, and moved over to give me a hug, it looked like, but stopped short when she saw my guarded expression and Aunt Dorothoy's hand on my shoulder. Hurt flashed through her eyes, and I felt guilty about that, but not even that moved me from my spot.

"Caryn's decided to move to Brooklyn," Aunt Dorothoy said dryly, "Because _he"_ she pointed to Dan "Can't hold a job." Mom got real angry real fast. She yelled at Aunt Dorothoy that she didn't know what she was talking about; she was moving for personal reasons.

"Yeah, like how you can't stand being so near me, one more thing to remind you of Andrew." Aunt Dorothoy sneered. "I guess it was a good thing my brother died when he did; it saved you from filing for divorce." I was totally confused by then. What was my aunt talking about? I knew Dan wasn't the most reliable, but I had never known he hopped from one job to another. And what was this about divorcing Dad? I knew Mom had loved Dad, there was no way she would divorce him. We had been happy, the three of us. So what could Aunt Dorothoy mean?

"Dorothoy, these are things that are between you and me, and it's not right to talk about that now," my mom said, obviously not wanting to talk about this in front of me. But I had every right to know what they were talking about, and I was not about to let Mom get away without explaining this. We had moved to the kitchen. Dan had wisely herded his son outside so his wife and her ex-sister-in-law could battle it out in private. They were now getting things out of the house, and I realized there was a moving truck outside.

"What does Aunt Dorothoy mean, Mom?" I asked. Mom looked between me and my aunt, gritted her teeth, and plastered a fake smile on her face.

"Nothing dear. Your aunt doesn't know what she's talking about; she just thinks I'm not capable of raising my children." Taking my arm, she tried to bring me into the living room, but I would have none of it. I shook her arm off me, and told her that I was staying with Aunt Dorothoy.

Her lips a thin line, my mom looked me right in the eye, and said in such a voice that I knew nothing would change her mind on the matter, "I will give you fifteen minutes to say good-bye. Then you're coming with the rest of us. If you had plans with your friends today, I'm afraid you're going to have to cancel them." Then she walked out, and I heard her slam the door behind her.

I turned to my aunt, just shocked. She shook her head, and then lead me over to the kitchen table. We sat down, and she took my hand. Stroking it lovingly, my aunt had a far-away look in her eyes. I waited uncomfortably for her to speak.

"What I'm about to tell you," she began, "Is probably unbelievable, but you must go into this with an open mind. And you must, _you must_, believe everything I tell you." My aunt looked at me, her eyes boring into me. "Do you understand?" I nodded, but I wasn't completely sure if I did.

"You have Egyptian blood in you, Brady. On your father's side; so I am Egyptian as well. But what's more, you have the blood of the Egypt's lost pharaohs. And the gods of Egypt? They're alive and quite well. I know you don't believe me; I can see it in your eyes, but I can prove it." My aunt went to one of her cupboards and took a plate out, and let if fall to the ground, where it split into many little pieces that would never fully go back together. Then she took a white curved stick out of her jeans pocket, and mumbled some words in a foreign language. Green symbols, which I knew were hieroglyphics, appeared above her head, and the plate pieced itself back together. I sat staring at the reassembled plate, not believing what had just happened.

_Believe it, _the voice in my head that had accomapanied my from school said_. Your aunt speaks the truth. She is a magician, as was your father. And indeed, Egypt's gods are as real as you. Why, you have one in you right now. Me_.

_"What_?" I screeched. There was no way this was happening. I was dreaming. Or going crazy. I hoped for the first option, but I was leaning more towards the second. My aunt looked at me and nodded solemnly. She believed this with her whole heart, and she wanted me to believe it too. But this was crazy. There were no such things as gods and magicians.

_Are you so sure_? the voice said_. If you believe that, then you greatly offend me. And it wouldn't do good to make an enemy out of Hapi, god of the Nile, not if you want food this year. Though that threat isn't very effective, is it? We're not in Egypt anymore. _I couldn't take this anymore. I was going crazy. I knew it. I started rambling that Aunt Dorothoy must be sick, and the plate must really have not been very damaged, but then my aunt raised her stick and said, "Quiet. _Hah-ri." _Hierpglyphics once again appeared over her head, and suddenly I couldn't speak. I tried, but the words refused to come. My mouth was closed. _Quiet, _I realized. My aunt had made this happen. She had ordered me quiet, and I became quiet.

With that last spell, I knew I wasn't dreaming, nor was I going crazy. This was real, and I was apart of it. _Finally, _Hapi said in my head. I wondered, and knew thanks to the god in my head, that Mom knew exactly what was going on, but she had refused to go along with it. I then understood why my mom might have wanted to divorce Dad.

"Do you understand?" Aunt Dorothoy asked. I nodded in answer. Somhow she knew that I had the Wadjet, _tyet, _and spine in my backpack, and began to explain about their power. She also told me I was a _host. _Aunt Dorothoy got up and went into her bedroom, and came back with a curved stick like she had, and told me it was a wand. Telling me a few spells, she watched me practice the Quiet spell, _hah-ri_, the Come spell, i_-ei_, the Destroy spell, _ha-di_, and the Fix spell, _hi-nehm_.

When my mom came to collect me when fifteen minutes were up, I was no long Brady Kohl.

I was Brady Kohl.

Blood of the pharaohs.

Godling host of Hapi.

Magician.


	3. My Ba Takes A Trip To Egypt

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When I got into the car, I slammed the door so hard the car rocked. No one commented, not even Jamie. My mom looked at me in the rear-view mirror and opened her mouth, most likely to talk to me about how this move was really the best thing for everyone, but I put my hand up. No way was I going to listen to one word that came out of her mouth.

"Mom," I said, my voice hard, "not one word. I don't want to hear it." She closed her mouth and averted her eyes. Dan was driving, and moving truck was following us to our new home in Brooklyn. As Jamie excitedly told me from his spot next to me, we were going to live on the East River, a few blocks from this abandoned warehouse. Whoopee.

Mom handed me a cell phone. When

I looked at it blankly, she explained quietly that I was supposed to call my friends and tell them that I was moving. I grunted and dialed Eddie's cell phone number; if he believed me about this sudden, seemingly unplanned trip (I barely did and I was the one who was riding away), he'd take care of all our other friends.

_"Hello?" _Eddie's voice came through the phone. I said hello back and took a deep breathe, and then blurted out the story. There was silence on the other end, and I feared my friend had hung up. But then Eddie said,

_"You're kidding, right?"_ I sighed. I didn' t think he'd believe me, but at least he was still here.

"No joke, dude. I'm dead serious. I go into my aunt's house, and then my mom tells me that we're moving."

_"Can she even_ do _that?"_

"I guess. But, Eddie, can you tell the other guys?"

_"Sure. I guess this means no football?" _Eddie's attempt at a joke made me laugh a little bit, but it made me sad that I was leaving behind my best friend and his witty humor.

"I guess so." Then I hung up. I gave the phone back to Mom, and settled in to wait for the worst day of my life to be over

* * *

Brooklyn, new house...

We finally made it to the house after thirteen and a half hours of driving. Mom and Dan switched so the other could get some rest, and they switched it up again. I voted for a hotel, but Mom argued that how were they going to park a moving van? At least we didn't have the movers drivers (Mom and Dan decided to hitch the van onto our truck, which I thought wouldn't be able to move with the weight, but it surprisingly did pretty well.)

Hapi had pretty much left me alone during the ride, only pointing out the names of the small rivers and streams we passed, but other than that he was quiet. That made me think that maybe I had just had a small crazy spell, but then Hapi was there like a flash, saying,

_That's not true, and you know it. _Frustrated that he was actually inside my head, I retorted angrily in my mind,

_Let me have my fantasy. I have a lot to deal with right now. _But the Nile god wouldn't let it go. He kept saying that it was better to let go of things that would never happen, and deal with reality.

You're _not reality! _I screamed at him in my mind. I didn't know being a host would be so infuriating. _And, God, you sound like my mom. _

I felt a weird rumbling in my head and stomach, and recognized it as Hapi snarling. Apparently he didn't like to be compared to my mother.

_That is correct, _Hapi said in response to my thoughts. _That woman is an insult to the Egyptian gods. Your mother is a jealous, hypocritical, heartless witch. It was her jealously that led her to demand why your father kept secrets from her, and then she pretended not to believe when she knew in her heart that Andrew spoke the truth. _

_She knew all about magicians, and hosts and such, but she still refused to believe in it. She grew afraid of the husband who loved her deeply, and I bet you she was not sorry at all when he died, and that is where her heart, or lack of therefore, is shown. I am sorry you have her as a mother. _

_That can't be true,_ I argued. _My mom can get pretty angry at times, and she does make stupid decisions, but she is _not_ heartless, or anything else you said she was. _

Hapi didn't respond for a long time. Finally his voice invaded my thoughts once more, _Give the crocodile an opening, and it will snap._ Then my god companion fell silent. Good, I had nothing to say to him, either.

When we got out of the car, Dan and I got a bunch of sheets and pillows that we had stuffed into the back of the truck, and then we just went into the house and piled the sheets and pillows into a big bunch and slept on that for the night.

I thought I would have a great, uninterrupted sleep since I was so tired, but I had one of the craziest dreams ever.

First off, my body was different. My head was the same, but when I looked down, I had the body of a chicken. And I was also looking down at my sleeping form and those of my family. Wonderful. I was a boy-headed floating chicken.

Then I felt a tugging, some strange force urging me to go. Deciding to go with the flow (ha-ha pun), I allowed the current to take my floating chicken body where it wanted. Looking at my new house from in the air was a prospect I had never thought I would get to do.

Where I ended up confused me. I saw desert stretching for miles on end, and I was next to a river. Looking in the distance, I could the Great Pyramids of Giza, and I knew instantly where I was: Egypt, home of the pharaohs.

Among the reeds and bennu birds (don't ask me how I knew that) looking for bugs in the Nile, I saw a young boy, probably around sixteen, kneeling in the river. He was dressed in a white cotton loin cloth, and I saw he had blue eyes when he looked up. There was no hair on him whatsoever, except for a fake pharoh beard.

But the weirdest things about him was that his skin was blue, and his stomach and breasts were plump and round, like a pregnant woman, but the person standing in the river was obviously a boy. Something about him seemed familiar, but there was no way I had ever seen him. Trust me, I would have remembered someone as strange as this boy was.

"Hello, Brady." He said. "How do you like meeting me for the first time? You know," the boy added as an afterthought, "I never really did like the _ba_ taking a chicken form. Just didn't seem right to me." I stared at him, and he stared back at me. Then the strange blue boy suddenly smacked his forehead and laughed.

"Oh my, where are my manners? Of course you don't recognize me. I'm Hapi, Egyptian god of the Nile." He swept his hands out wide, as if giving me full view of his domain. "Not to be confused with my great-great-great-nephew, mind you."

I continued to stare at him. Was this really the god who was inside my head? And if so, why was I having a dream about him? And what the heck was a _ba? _Wasn't that the sound sheep make? (I know, I know, stupid, but I didn't know then. So shut up.)

Hapi saw my confused expression, and came out of the river. Sitting down on its banks, he invited me to come sit with him. Reluctantly I went over and plopped down, dangling my chicken feet in the water.

"I think it's time you know what's going on. I know your aunt explained most of it, but there's more to this than you realize." I looked at him, curious. Hapi, blue eyes locking onto my brown eyes, said in all seriousness,

"There are risks that come with being a host. I can, if you let me, take over your actions and do what I want. Not that I ever would without your permission," he said hurriedly when he saw the indignant look on my face. I nodded and the god continued.

"If my power becomes too much for your body, you will, essentially, burn out completely." He ignored the horrified look on my face, but just kept talking.

"Also, there is an organization called the Per Ankh, or House of Life, that wish to banish the gods, and can not stand godlings; that is, hosts. But two ex-godlings, Carter and Sadie Kane, have practically started a rebellion that has torn the House apart. Apophis is rising-do you know who Apophis is?" I nodded and watched as the birds looked around in a panic and suddenly flew away. If I remembered correctly, he was a giant evil snake that threatened to eat the sun, and Ra and his great-grandson Set had to fight him night after night when they came from the Underworld to shine once again in the real world.

"Anyway, he is coming back, and the Kane children believe the magicians need to ally themselves with us gods, but 1,000 years of tradition is pretty rock-solid for new things to come in, don't you think?" I nodded, taking all of this in like a starving man inhaling food. Hey, what can I say? I'm a scholor at heart.

"The Chief Lector of the House, Michel Desjardins, is one of those opposed to working with the gods, but I agree with the Kanes. I would very much like you to agree as well." Hapi looked at me, and worry reflected in his eyes. I felt truly sorry for him, and frightened, for if Apophis really was, well, real, and coming back...that just spelled trouble.

"I want you to find Sadie and Carter, and bring the amulets you found to them. They'll know what to do with them." He looked at the sky and frowned. I hadn't noticed, but it seemed to be getting darker now.

"I have to go back to the Duat now," the god said. Seeing my perplexed expression, he quickly explained. Then he stood up, and touching my forehead, said,

"See you around, Brady Kohl."

And then I bolted up right, back on my mound of sheets and pillows in my new house with my family. I shook my head to clear it. I tried to shake the dream off, but I knew it was real.

Man, this whole thing sucked.

* * *

**A.N-While I was researching things on Hapi, I found out there are technically two: the Nile river god, and one of the four sons of Horus. I made Hapi say 'Not to be confused with my great-great-great-nephew' because I Googled a diagram of Egyptian god family tree, and that's what I came up with. Hapi the Nile god was the son of Ra, and his brother Shu had Geb and Nut, who had Isis and Osiris, who had Horus, who had Hapi son of Horus (one of the protectors of the organs when people where mummified).**


	4. We Meet Each Other

**A.N-Okay, sorry to keep you waiting. I have a little contest for you guys: whoever can give me some ideas for the next chapter will get the privilege of reading the chapter before I post it. So you have to log in and review, so I can PM or reply to you.  
Also, to Romy Yusi, I think you may be confused. I myself did not write the Kane Chronicles, this is only a FAN-meaning the people who like the book-FICTION-that is, not reality. Sorry for the confusion I may have caused. **

* * *

I stared up at the big warehouse. We were semi-settled into our new home, and we had been here for six weeks. Mom, Dan, and Jamie had went to the park, but I had declined, saying I wanted to explore. My mom had decided to let me be, and I could have sworn she seemed relieved not to have to bring me along.

_Are you sure this is it? _I asked Hapi. My god had told me to go to the warehouse near my house, because that was apparently where the Kanes were. Hapi said that they lived with their uncle, Amos Kane, but he was in the First Nome, otherwise, Egypt, and the cat goddess, Bast.

Hapi had been teaching me a lot of things the past few weeks. He had told me about the Nomes, what a _ba _was, given me detailed descriptions of the most important people in the Per Ankh, told me which gods were good and which ones were not, and helped me practice my magic. I had come to appreciate his company, even enjoy it. Talking to him in my head had become as easy and normal as sleeping. And speaking of sleeping, I still had _ba _trips. Hapi told me that it was normal for my spirit to wander.

_Yes. _Hapi answered. I frowned. I couldn't understand what the big idea about the warehouse was, and I also couldn't imagine people living here. It was all run-down, and looked like it should have been on the 'condemned' list. The Nile god had said the Kanes lived in a mansion, but 'run-down warehouse' and 'mansion' did not add up, if you asked me.

_Look up top. _Hapi advised. _really **look. **_I did what my god said and looked up at the warehouse's roof, and my eyes popped out of their sockets. There, on the warehouse roof, was a mansion. A freaking mansion. I gaped for a few minutes before getting over my shock.

_That's all well and good,_ I began, _but how do I get **up **there? _

_The stairs. _Hapi replied, as if it were obvious. I looked around and sighed. There were no stairs in sight. Hapi realized this and added hastily,

_They come down. Here, I'll show you. _Then he told me to go to the side and, lo and behold, there were coiled up steps reaching all the way up to the mansion. Shaking my head in disbelief, I yanked down on the stairs and they came down. Looking around uneasily, I started to ascend, hoping the Kanes wouldn't blast me to bits when they saw me. I had a feeling that they were much better at their magic then I was.

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Hey, it's me again. Carter Kane. So you've heard Brady's story of before he met us, and now Sadie and I are going to pick it up. This is how we met our first, unrelated (?) blood of Pharaohs.

I looked up from my pick-up game with Khufu when I heard the a knock on the door. I frowned. Amos wasn't back from the First Nome yet, and even if he was, he would A, let us know beforehand, and B, open the door himself instead of knocking, so the person behind the door was no one we knew, and that meant threat.

Sadie got up from flipping through a fashion magazine and got her wand out. Bast, knives already unsheathed from her sleeves, followed Sadie to the door. Putting my hand to the hilt of the sword, I slowly brought up the rear.

When we reached the door, Sadie and Bast went to the sides of it so the person wouldn't see them. I put my hand out and up, forcing the door to open. We all tensed, expecting some House of Life bozo to appear and try to kill/kidnap us, but the only thing there was a sandy-haired boy with brown eyes wearing capris, a green polo shirt, and a frightened expression on his face when he saw my sword.

Bast and Sadie peeked around me to see our visitor, deciding since I wasn't attacking him and he wasn't attacking us that he was safe-for now. Sadie whistled, and I rolled my eyes, thinking her newly-discovered, thirteen-year-old hormones were not needed, nor very welcomed right now. Facing the stranger, making sure to keep him aware of my sword, I demanded to know who he was.

"Uh, B-Brady. Brady Kohl." Before I had time to interrogate him further, Bast leaned over me and looked Brady in the face, a strange look in her eyes. Suddenly she pulled back, as if surpised, and said in a shocked voice,

_"Hapi? _You found a host, finally?" Brady, Sadie **(Haha, rhymes) **and I looked at her. Then Brady got a far-away expression in his face, and spoke. But this was a deeper voice, with a bit of an accent to it, completely different from when he had told us his name.

"Bast, my pussy cat, how _are _you? I haven't seen you since Ra told you to go fight that accursed snake!" Brady looked like he would have hugged Bast, and the goddess looked ready to do the same, but then the boy's features twisted into annoyance, and his eyes rolled upward, as if trying to look into his skull. When he spoke, his voice had reverted back to normal.

"Don' t do that! You said you wouldn't take over my body without my permission, and what do you go and do? Start talking to this cat chick with knives while some guy has a sword at my throat! Do you _see _the problem here?" It was obvious that he was not talking to any of us, and I recognized the talking-out-loud-seemingly-to-yourself-but really-to-the-god-in-your-body situation he was in.

"You're a host," I said. Until I saw the boy acting this way, what Bast had said hadn't fully sunk in. Brady looked away from his head. He looked at me and nodded.

Well. We had found a fellow blood of Pharaohs host without even stepping out our front door.

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**A.N-Sorry this is a bit short. Do you think it was a good idea, jumping to Carter's P.O.V like that? Should I keep it in his and Sadie's, with a little Brady in there, no Brady, or all Brady? I realize there wasn't much Sadie in there, but she'll come in in later chapters. And I know I have her as thirteen, let's just pretend her birthday rolled around, okay? Okay.**


	5. We Flee In A Stolen Vehicle, Again

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I stared at the boy in front of me, examining him. He was pretty good-looking, with tousled hair. He had a cocky attitude about him, with a sense that he had some serious street smarts. A black backpack was slung over one of his shoulders.

I remembered a model I had sworn to my mates Liz and Emma that I would marry one day, and this boy–Brady–looked a bit like him, but he still couldn't hold a candle to Anubis. [Wait, why did I just say that? Is there an 'edit' button on this thing? Oh, well, just ignore that last part. That means you too, Carter, so stop snickering. (Brothers.) It's not like your crush on Zia is a big secret.]

Speaking of my dear brother, Carter was sizing Brady up, still not sure if he was friend of foe. I wasn't either, but he seemed all right. Bast, who was leaning against the sofa, sharpening her knives, had surely taken a liking to him, but that might just be because he was hosting Hapi. Note to self: Ask Carter which god Hapi is.

"Let's start over, shall we?" Brady asked. He stuck his hand out to Carter and me. My brother took it, and I did, too, after. He introduced himself once again, and when I started to say who we were, he interrupted, saying,

"I know who you are; Hapi told me. You're Sadie and Carter Kane." He pointed to me, and then to Carter. Then he got a mischievous glint in his eyes, and he said jokingly,

"Of course, if it's the other way around, that's fine, too." Carter glared at him, and I rolled my eyes. Any attraction I had had to him was now blown out the window. We sat down on the couches, and starting asking Brady what he knew. You already know what he knows, so I won't bore you and repeat everything.

"Do you have the amulets?" Carter asked. When he said that, part of me lurched, wanting to put my _tjet _back on, to feel Isis' power in me once more. But I knew it was too dangerous. I had resisted the temptation when the amulets were in my own house; surely I could keep resisting.

"Yeah," Brady answered, rummaging around in his backpack. He produced the box Carter and I had put the Knot of Isis, Eye of Horus, and Spine of Osiris in. It seemed so long ago, but it really only been a few months. Brady fingered his own amulet, a plain wooden frog with a lotus in the middle of its back. Bast leaned over and looked at it. An amused smile played at lips.

"Where did you get that, Brady?" she asked. Our guest seemed surprised by her question, also a bit uncomfortable, but he answered anyway.

"My dad carved it for me. That's were I get my Egyptian blood from." Bast nodded, seeming satisfied with that answer. But then she asked him if he knew what the symbols mean. She was rewarded with a blank look.

The goddess sighed, but it was Carter who told us that the frog and lotus were symbols for Hapi. Brady and I nodded in unison. I didn't really care so much, but whatever. Then I turned to Brady and asked him if he had any ideas how to stop Apophis. When I said the snake's name, Khufu–who had been eating some Cheerios by the fireplace–screeched and started running around the room, and my sweet cat, Muffin, hissed and arched her back, the fur on her back sticking up. Bast sighed and calmed her servant down with a word, and then went to settle Khufu, and I remembered that it was bad to say 'his' name.

"No," Brady said, in answer to my question. He looked ready to say something else, but suddenly our door blew open, and we were greeted by the sight of House of Life magicians in our threshold.

"Bloody lovely," I said, reaching for my wand as Carter unsheathed his sword. Bast's knives were out, and Brady surprised me by pulling out his own wand and staff. One of the magicians (there was a total of six) stepped forward, wand drawn and a scroll in his hand. He unrolled it and starting reading, in a booming voice, our 'crimes'.

"Carter and Sadie Kane, you are under arrest by he Per Ankh for meddling with and hosting the gods, housing the cat goddess Bast and encouraging her to leave her post, using magic against the House, and not submitting willingly to the law of the House of Life. Brady Kohl, your less severe crimes include hosting a god an associating with criminals."

Bast was in front of us in a flash, crouching. She smiled at the magicians, who were chanting spells, but not fast enough for our personal body guard goddess. She slashed at them with her knives, invalidating them. She knocked them aside as if they were dolls, and when back-up came, she took care of them, too. The three of us didn't have to do a thing. Bast turned to us and said in an urgent voice,

"Come on, we have to get out of here. I don't know how they got past the house's defences, but we have to go now."

"But where do we go?" I asked. Carter nodded. We had no idea when and if the House would come again, and I had a feeling they would, especially when these guys didn't come back. Bast looked unsure, muttering to herself, and I heard her say 'Manhattan', but Brady surprised us by saying,

"You could come to my house. My mom and step-dad and their son are out at the park, so it should be empty." (I concluded by the way Brady had referred to his half-brother as 'their son', he didn't like him very much. I was glad that Carter and I were close [I know, Carter, I'm a bit surprised there myself]). My brother and Bast and I looked at each other and, deciding that Brady's suggestion was the best, we nodded.

We pulled down the stairs and ran down. Brady had his backpack, and Muffin and Khufu were coming with us, because we didn't want them at the house when the House attacked again. Philp of Macedonia, we reverted back to shabti form and I put him in my pocket. Bast (not surprisngly) stole another car after putting all her servants in the area on alert, and we piled in.

With Brady giving directions, we headed toward his house.


	6. Bast Meets An Old Friend

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We followed Brady to his house, looking out for any House of Life goons, but we saw none. Brady pointed out different spots on the way, so we would know where to go if we ever needed to go to his house again. I didn't think we would, but it helped to know we had a safe haven other than the mansion if we ever needed it.

There was no one home when we got there, like Brady said. His mom and step-dad and little brother must still be at the park. Brady asked if we wanted anything to drink; he had orange juice, milk, apple juice, sprite, diet coke, root beer, and orange soda. Bast took some milk, Carter had a glass of orange juice, and I had a can of coke. Muffin, who had been sitting in my lap, accepted the bowl of milk Brady put down in front of her. Our host also produced a pack of Oreo's for Khufu.

We sat down at the table and discussed our battle plan. Bast, Carter, Amos and I had always know Per Ankh knew about our home, but what concerned us was that they knew about Brady. Maybe not his home, but it was only a matter of time, so we wanted to make sure he was prepared. Carter asked him if anyone else in his family knew about the Egyptian gods and that he was a host.

"Just my aunt," he answered. "And my dad did, but he died. Hapi says that my mom knows, but there's no way she does. She hates magic and religion, and just believes in the stuff she can see." I nodded. I remember when I had been like that; then I _had_ seen that the gods were real, and so was magic. But hey, you can't make a believer out of everyone.

Suddenly we heard the front door unlock. We froze. It couldn't be the House of Life; A, they didn't have a key, and B, they would just blow the door open. So it must be Brady's family coming back. Bast, Carter, and I tried to hide, but it was too late; a woman walked into the room and stopped, blinking, when she saw three strangers, a cat and a baboon in her house.

The woman had green eyes and long, straight brown hair, with low cheekbones and a pointed nose. She looked about 5''7, but she was wearing heels, so she was probably shorter than that. A green purse was in her hand, and she had a blue trench coat on over green stretchy pants and a pink blouse.

"Hey, Mom," Brady said sheepishly.

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So, you know the woman who just walked in is Brady's mom. A nice-looking woman, but she might look better if she wasn't glaring at us and wiped that scowl off her face. But I guess she has good reason to.

"Brady," she said slowly, "who...are...these people?" She looked at the animals, then scanned mine and Sadie's faces blankly, but when she got to Bast's face, recognition flashed in her eyes. The woman tried to hide it, but we all saw it. Bast grinned, and waggled her hand at Brady's mom.

"These are my new friends and..." Brady trailed off, not sure what to call the cat goddess. I filled in hurriedly,

"This is our aunt Kitty. Brady invited us over; I hope you don't mind, Ms..."

"Mrs. Fitzpatrick," Brady's mom answered absentmindedly, still looking at Bast with a bit of fear. Muffin meowed at her feet, causing her to jump. She looked down at the cat and smiled a little bit. I guessed she liked animals; at least cats. How interesting, she liked cats but didn't seem to thrilled to have their queen in her house.

"I...I'm glad you have some friends, Brady, but you should have called me first." She looked at Sadie and me, and managed a forced smile. She put out her hand, and we both shook it. But when Bast came over, Mrs. Fitzpatrick dropped her hand and nodded. But Bast wouldn't have it; she put out her hand and waited. The woman knew it would be rude not to shake, so she did so reluctantly. Bast said nonchalantly,

"You can stop the act now, Caryn. Your son knows who-_what_-I am, and I think it is only fair that you don't hide secrets from him." Caryn Fitzpatrick recoiled from the goddess, anger in her eyes. She said, very angrily,

"Get. Out." Bast pursed her lips. She obviously did not like this mortal telling her what to do. She shook her head to clear it, and I thought she would tell us to go, but then she looked up and the smile the goddess gave Mrs. Fitzpatrick was pure predatory.

"You know you can't order me around like a pet," our friend purred. "It is not natural, for a peasant to order the Pharaoh. These three know you're in no position to rule. Now, I think it's high time you told your son what you know." The woman looked livid. Brady glanced between his mother and Bast in confusion. I didn't blame him. I eyed our friend's mother with suspicion. What did she know, that Bast wanted it revealed?

"Mom?" Brady said tentively, stepping forward. There was some caution in his eyes, a little confusion, but mostly determination. I knew he was going to find out the truth, no matter what the cost. His mother was silent, so he prodded further,

"Is this...what Aunt Dorothey was talking about? About...Dad?" His mother whirled to meet his eyes, and there was fear, sadness, disbelief, and determination in her eyes. It seemed she was going to do everything she could to _not_ tell us her big secret. Sadie, who, like me, had been mostly silent, said,

"Come on, Caryn, just tell us. I'm guessing your husband and younger son don't know a thing, and I'm sure they're going to be back soon. I know I'm not leaving until we find out what you're hiding, and you probably don't want to explain all this to them, do you?" The woman looked at her and scowled. But we could all see it: she had caved. She was going to tell us what she knew.

"Follow me," she said solomnly, leading us to the living room.


	7. We Hear A Story

**A.N-Hey guys! I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while; I had an idea for a chapter but wasn't sure how to put it all together. you know? I'm also not sure where this story is going to go. Anyone up for another contest? Same rules apply: The person who gives me a good idea for the next chapter and/or rest of the story gets a sneak peek of the next chapter.

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Mom sat down on one of the covered boxes we had not yet unpacked. Bast, Carter and Sadie sat on the couch. I stayed standing. Mom took a deep breath and began,

"Andrew and I were married for five years when he began acting...strange. Brady, you were about three and a half."

"What do you mean, strange?" Carter asked. He was leaning forward earnestly, while his sister was so far back into the couch it looked like she was trying to disappear in it. Bast was just examining her fingernails, a bored look on her face, as if she wasn't interested in this story at all. Perhaps she already knew my parents' story. Mom answered,

"Well, he would stay at work awfully long, and would come home dazed. Then he'd go down into his workshop as soon as I let him go. He wouldn't hold the baby, barely touched me; it was all I could do to get him to talk to me. I would ask him what was wrong, and he would just smile and tell me it was nothing. This went on for quite a few years. Maybe I was stupid for letting it go on for so long, but I was hoping it really was nothing. Eventually, I came to the conclusion that he was cheating on me." I scowled, and Bast snorted. I didn't like thinking of my dad as an adulterer.

"Yes, that was what was wrong," the goddess said. Mom pursed her lips, and I glared at her. I wanted to hear this.

"So one night I snuck down before Andrew came home. He didn't expect me to be home; I'd told him that I would be out with friends. I hid in a closet and waited and watched. Andrew came down and...and started doing these weird spells. I burst out of the closet and accused him of all these terrible things. I threatened to leaved him, even divorce him, if he didn't explain himself. And he did. But I didn't understand. So I packed a few essentials, took you, Brady, and spent the night at my parents'." My mom's voice dropped to a whisper. "He died the next day."

I swallowed, hard. Listening to this was kind of upsetting. I loved him, still do, and I can't imagine that he could anything that might upset my mother. Dad had died when I was eight and a half. Mom had let this go on for five years. Surely she had loved him, if she trusted him that much. But, even now that I knew what my dad was, I could see how his weird behavior might be suspicious. Sadie said surprised,

"That is strange. I don't think a normal magicican would do that. Maybe...maybe he was a host?" This last part was mostly directed to her brother, who looked thoughtful.

"Maybe," he answered. "You could be on to something, Sadie [**Carter, in the background: **A first! **Sadie: Smack** Ow! Sadie!]. But what god would he host? And how did they come out?" The girl shrugged. She had done her part, I guess she wasn't going to contribute anymore.

I was unnerved by their speculation. I didn't like the thought of a god messing around in my dad's head. Hapi was great, but the Kanes had told me some gods, like Set, Serquet, and Sobek (What's up with the S's?) were bad through and through. What if one of them had latched on to Dad? I doubted they had the same aversion to taking over their hosts' bodies without permission. I don't want to think of the things his god might have made him to.

I stood up and strode to the door. Everyone looked at me. Bast stood up, as did my mom.

"Where are you going?" Sadie asked, confused. I stopped and looked over my shoulder.

"I'm going to find out what happened to my father. You guys coming?"

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**A.N-Yes, I know it's short, but that's all I got for now. Remeber my contest!**


	8. We Enter The Land of the Dead

**A.N-I am so, so, so sorry I haven't updated. However, I did give up FF for Lent this year, so I couldn't go on. And, you know how you have an idea for a story or chapter, but you just don't know how to weave the details in? Well, that's how it was with me. But at least you know I'm alive! **

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I walked out into the street and started walking with no particular place in mind. My head was spinning from what I had just learned; I needed time to process the information. I also needed to sort out my feelings. I was angry, confused, grieved, shocked. That my mother would keep something like this...that my father could have been involved in something terrible...it was all just too much to comprehend in one sitting.

Hapi, quiet all throughout Mom's confession, now chose this time to speak.

_I am sorry you had to know, _he began. _Truly I am. No one should have to realize this about their father. When I found out, I was horrified, thinking of you, his young son._

My first response to that was confusion. _Huh? _Hapi seemed to realize he had said something he shouldn't have. I could feel his turmoil, struggling with the question of whether or not he should tell me. Finally, he said,

_We gods watch the blood of Pharohs very closely, to see if they are worthy of being our hosts. I know, you are thinking that I was sealed. But Per Ankh-The House of Life-did not catch all the gods. I was one of those gods. A reason, perhaps, might be that I rarely take a human host. Usually, I connect to a river-it reminds me of home, of Egypt. And so, I tracked your grandmother, and your father and aunt, because Tia-your grandmother- especially revered me, and taught her children to do the same. Your grandfather, who was a regular mortal, had died trying to master the spells his wife did._

_So, when Andrew went off and started a family, I figured he would tell you about me. But he did not. Instead, he came to me, begging me to let him seal me inside your amulet, so I could protect you. At first I thought he was taking this too far, pushing my kindness. But then he told me that a god had made him a host, and he was afraid that the god would take over, and hurt you and Caryn. So I agreed. Thus I have been with you all this time._

Great. More stuff to process: my dad being possessed against his will, and a creepy male pregnant god stalking me for five years. What was I supposed to do about _that?_

_So...I've, like, been your host this whole time?_

_Not exactly. With the Kane children, Eset and Heru-_

_Huh?_ I asked. I hadn't ever heard of Egyptian gods named that. Hapi, knowing I had no idea what he was talking about, quickly corrected himself,

_I meant Isis and Horus. I rather like the old ways, you see. Before the Greeks came, that was who they were. Anyway, they went right from the amulet to the children's bodies, but I stayed nestled in your necklace. So, in a way, you _were_ my host, just not...really._

_That clears it up, _I grumbled.

After all this, my second response was realization at what he said the very first time, and then anger. _You...you _knew _my dad was a...a-what do you call it?-host, all along, and you did _nothing? _How could you! How _dare _you! You said Dad honored you and served you faithfully, and this is how you repay him, letting him fear for his family, letting him get possessed when he didn't want to? Kindness, my ass!_

I hurled many insults against the Nile god, cursing and calling him names, and he took it all in stride. After I calmed down and finished my mental rant, Hapi decided it was safe to speak:

_Brady, please, listen to me. While the magicians could not capture me fully, for a god exists in many different places at once, they had sealed off many parts of my energy, much like your father had done, but enchanting it so I could not reform or access it. Therefore, I was weak. I had no form; there was nothing I could do for your father. So, instead, I honored his request, waiting for the time when I would have to protect his son from his enemies._ There was a pause_. And that time has come. _

_What do you mean?_

_I told you. The Snake is gathering strength, so far Sadie and Carter only have you, and the House of Life is after you. I think you need my help._

_Hmph. I'm still mad at you_

_Yeah, yeah._

The door hinges squeaked behind me, and I turned to see Carter and Sadie standing there. They looked at me warily, as if they weren't sure if they could approach me. I waved them over to me, and they walked over. There was concern in their eyes, and Carter asked,

"Are you all right?" I wasn't sure how to answer that question. Was I all right? I didn't think I was, but I felt I needed to reassure them. So I nodded, not trusting my voice. Bast soon came out of the house, and also stood there, just as silent. Sadie, sensing the awkwardness and uncomfortablness of the situation, said,

"So, any idea on how to get answers?" We thougt about it for a long time. Finally, Sadie said,

"Why don't we go visit Dad?" I stared at her, but Carter looked thougtful.

"It could work," he said. Then he frowned. "But Brady's dad died _before_ Dad merged with Osiris."

"But he'll know everything Osiris knows," Sadie said. "And if not, then we can ask Anubis."

"Yes, I know you're just _dying _to do that!" Sadie punched his arm, scowled, and then, seeing my confused look for the first time, quickly and briefly explained about their dad being the eternal host of Osiris...or something like that.

I considered their theory. I didn't have any ideas, and it was better than nothing, so I said,

"Sure. But how do we do that"

"Leave that to me," Carter said.

Soon, we were aboard the _Egyptian Queen, _a boat with a floating fire ball crew and a captain with a twin battle ax for a head. All in all, it was very weird.

"Where are we going?" I asked, as we approached a big torrent of rusing water and fang-like rocks.

'"The Land of the Dead," Bast intoned.


End file.
